Nebraska volleyball's Harper Murray and Merritt Beason talk approaching season | August 19, 2024

questions what what have you been most encouraged about this team so far yeah I think it's just so exciting because the level in the gym is so high right now like it's so competitive whether it's the a side or the B side I mean it's back and forth pretty much every single day games are really tight so I think it's just really exciting that we're continuing to get better and not being complacent each person has the things that they need to work on and you can see all of us really trying to find those little ways that we can continue to get better and ultimately that's going to make us be a better team but I would just say how competitive it is harer how competitive has it been outside hitters one that number of girls competing for two spots how competitive have you the outside position I think Taylor and Skyler were good additions and obviously like Taylor has a really good pass at Minnesota so I think it was really good to have her come in the gym just because she brings up the level of competition and play in general so I think it's really good for us and it pushes all of us individually too have you felt that you need to elevate your game definitely but I think we're all doing a good job of doing that mer coach was saying he ripped you guys pretty good the other day I mean is that the worst you've seen him and how do you guys respond to that um was he talking about Saturday I would say like it wasn't just like him ripping us he was just kind of tough on us all practice which I think is normally normally not his coaching style nowadays so I would say like over a consistent period of time yeah but also in that moment we kind of needed it so it was good and I mean he has to continue pushing us because we are such a high Lev team that he's got to find ways for us to continue getting better so I mean I think for us it was a good thing and sometimes we do need to be kicked in the butt a little bit so it's good every now and then how was the response today from that yeah I think think I mean what this team does really really well uh is we understand like we have a saying the game has no memory and so Saturday's done we all came in yesterday and we watched film we figured out what we needed to fix what we needed to do better and then today's a new day and I think this team does a really good job of that of just kind of letting go of yesterday's practice or maybe today we need to let go of today's whatever it is this team does a really good job of having a new mindset and a fresh start each day that we come in so I thought today was really good I thought we all came in and we were continuing to work on the things that we need to work on harer how have your teammates supported you through this offseason and how has that made you feel I think um one thing that our team focuses on a lot is just understanding each other and so in certain moments maybe Harper needs a little bit more in certain moments maybe Harper needs to be alone just things like that each of us are all different and we're all unique in our own ways and so for us this entire summer it's just been about continuing to build those relationships not just Harper but all of us continuing to figure out what each person needs in each moment and so I think obviously we've done a really good job of helping Harper through all the stuff that she's had to deal with but also like that's just the culture of Nebraska volleyball and so it's not just been her we just continued to build those relationships and ultimately grow the deeper understanding of each other so that those relationships come out on the court but I would say overall just focusing on relationships and hopefully Harper's felt that as well period what was your main focus on the court during this off season and how to improve and take another step as a sophomore I think with having a year under my belt I think it brings a lot of different viewpoints for me just from playing the past year so I think just working on like the little things and staying disciplined just because that's something coach is always on us for um but yeah other than that like off the court just building relationships like Meritt said what are those things are you focusing on those things I mean I think something our team does well is like go out to coffee with one another that's like kind of little but also like we just got a new facility at the stadium so we all go to training table and we eat lunch together so it's just the little things like that that we put the effort in off the court on the communication I would say that's the biggest one just building trust May coach talked about the role of Jordan Larson just being back kind of she being a captain for the captain what has that relationship been and how valuable is she to you and Lexi no it's huge I think I mean it's Jordan it's wish it's Kelly all of them provide such a unique insight for us because they ultimately have been in our shoes and so for us it's huge just having the chance and the opportunity to go to people who have once been in our shoes and have honestly played under coach like sure a lot of times you have assistant coaches who have played in college but not under the same coach that you're playing under and so for us it's obviously they're huge mentors I think the special thing about Jordan is she kind of calms coach down so for all of us it was like okay Jordan's back like we're good and everything's just a little bit more smooth and a little bit more calm when Jordan's there and so I think that's a huge thing for us as well is just continuing to learn from her and also like Lexi and I learn in that way also like what does she do to kind of help calm coach down when we need to just little things like that that we're able to learn because she was in our position and she has played at the highest level and so she's pretty much seen it all at this point so for us it's just a great mentorship and we just continue to learn from her each and every day what does it say about her that she you know was just in the Olympics had her car accident got back and was like immediately in the gym coaching I mean that's just who she is like you know you can't even you could go on about Jordan for days and days and days but I mean she just shows up every single day someone asked her today at training table how she was doing and she was like I'm running a little empty but she showed up today and she gave us her all she gave us energy she gave us feedback she gave us positivity and there's never a day that we come in and we're like H where's Jordan like her presence is never missing no matter how much she's struggling or how much she has on her plate and I think that just speaks to her character because she holds herself to such a high standard and she holds herself with such Grace so I mean you could ask me about her for hours and we could sit here all day coach said coach said it wasn't even a discussion to renew you and Lexi as the two captains what did that mean to have the support of the team and how are you looking to continue in that leadership role yeah I mean leadership is the same thing as like skills on the court whether it's Rel ships or not like we're continuing to try and evolve and try and be better for this team so I mean like I said last year when it was decided it's just a huge honor and I think for us it's just finding ways to continue being better for this team and it is it is a new team so the things that worked last year aren't going to work this year we added new people and so we're kind of figuring out how again how these 14 puzzle pieces are all going to fit together so I mean for us it's just continuing to evolve and figure out how we're going to be better leaders day in and day out what is it what does it mean for you to have out there um I mean I know she was a part of the reason that you came to school here so for for her to be back um what kind of an impact does that have I mean like Meritt said it kind of calms coach down a little bit so it's kind of refreshing to have her back but I mean we have one of the best players in the world as our coach so I feel like it's kind of self-explanatory but like Meritt said like her presence is always there and she's always very talkative with us and gives us a lot of good feedback so she's just a like good person in and out whether it's on the volleyball court or not so I think it means means a lot for us to have her here and know that she's going to give us her all every day is there a specific way that she's helped make you better in the last year I think she's taught me a lot um when it comes to bouncing back after mistakes and like obviously volleyball skills yeah but I think just like the mental side of it cuz she's she's seen so much and played for so long that she understands like way more than anyone ever things so um I think she's just helped with like the mental side of things like how to bounce back and how to make things like the tiniest bit better final questions mer second in the preseason poll did you know that you take any in that what's it take I mean we saw it like on social media but I think for us at the end of the day like just because we're ranked number two right now and just because we were in the national championship last year doesn't mean anything so for us I mean sure it's great but it doesn't mean anything and our season starts on Tuesday and we're taking it one day at a time just like we did last year because at the end of the day like sure those rankings are great but they don't mean anything they don't promise you anything so for us it's just bringing our best day in and day out and hopefully we are back in the situation that we were in last year and we have a different outcome but it's just she says he says so we got to prove it at the end of the day hey Harper you have fan day coming up on Saturday how much has Husker Nation meant to you and really bonding with the younger fans who come and watch you how much have you really relish that the last year here I mean I don't really think I personally understood how much Nebraska's fans were involved in the sport and I think once I played my first game here I realized that and then over the past year like obviously this support's just like flooding every single game um and over over the summer like I worked a bunch of volleyball camps and I had a lot of fun meeting all the little fans so I hope to see some of them at fand day I don't know if a lot of them will be there but I mean the support from our fans is tremendous and they've always been that way going back to the PO we got three top 10 opponents in the non-conference how will that help you guys get ready to play in the Big 10 personally I don't really care about the rankings I don't think they matter um so I mean I guess we can use it as some motivation but I think at the end of the day we know what we can give to the game so I think that's what's just going to push us at the end of the day for either of you the first match is like eight days from now I feel like it got here like really quick yeah yeah very fast um so I mean like I said we're just taking it one day at a time there's still things that we need to Pro improve on and still things that we need to get better at so we're trying to focus on that and just kind of soak up the last little bit of preseason that we have to prepare for that but I think we're also really excited to play someone other than ourselves and kind of because it is hard when you have such a competitive gym we're kind of like like how do we look how how are we going to look against someone else just because we get so used to playing each other so I think we're all really excited to play someone other than ourselves what uh you both had a chance to watch the60 Doc what are your thoughts your impressions from watching and what do you your stories can be told on the actal platform what do you think about that I got it okay well you can go after okay great I mean I think it's a really cool opportunity for our team just to show our culture and show what we put in the gym day in and day out um and obviously Jen and Maddie put a lot of work into that and it took a while to put together but I think at the end of the day it really goes in depth about us as people and our culture and our coaches and really shines like on our coaches on how much they work on our culture and how much they try to improve us as people and the history of Nebraska volleyball is viously amazing and most people in Nebraska know that but not as many people around the country do so I think it'll be a good opportunity for people to really learn about our history and our culture all right thanks we'll bring Jordan in next